The timing and type of medical treatment you get can impact the outcome of your injury claim. See why medical care after a slip and fall is so important.
Slip and fall injuries are among the most common injuries in the United States today. More than 6.8 million people required emergency medical treatment for fall injuries in one recent year.¹
Slip and fall accidents are common and can be debilitating. You need to know what to do if you or a loved one are hurt as the result of a slip and fall trauma. Timely medical intervention can mean the difference between life and death, and can make or break your slip and fall injury claim.
1. Prompt Treatment Connects the Fall to Your Injury
It’s sometimes difficult to know how badly you’re hurt immediately after a slip and fall accident. As with other health issues, it’s better to be safe than sorry.
Prompt medical care is not only vital to your health and well-being, it can also make or break the success of your slip and fall injury claim.
Going to an emergency room or calling 911 (particularly if the victim is elderly) is a good idea.
Never refuse medical care at the scene of a slip and fall. If paramedics want to transport you to the hospital, let them take you.
If you aren’t taken directly to an emergency room, be sure to seek medical attention as soon as possible. You can see your primary care provider, visit an urgent care center, or go to the emergency department at your local hospital. Try to be seen on the same day as your fall.
It’s critically important to connect your injuries and treatment to the slip and fall.
Make sure you get timely treatment and that your medical records are complete and accurate. Tell every one of your medical care providers when, where, and how you were injured. It’s important to report all your injuries and symptoms, not just the one that hurts the most right after the fall.
2. Medical Treatment Determines Your Compensation
From the moments after your slip and fall accident until you make a full recovery, try your best to ensure you have the best possible treatment for your injury. Part of this also means thinking ahead to the claims process.
Not all slip and fall injuries are obvious. Head injuries in particular can be difficult to gauge. Slip and fall accidents can cause concussions and other traumatic brain injuries (TBI). These need attention right away. Symptoms of a concussion may not manifest until hours or even days after the injury.
Even if there are no visible injuries after a slip and fall, it’s wise to seek prompt medical treatment.
Delaying or refusing medical attention after a slip and fall gives the at-fault party’s insurance company a handy excuse to deny your premises liability claim. The adjuster will argue that the injury did not occur on the insured’s property.
Calculating Injury Compensation
Most soft tissue injuries, like ligament and muscle sprains, will be treated on an outpatient basis with medical care, medications, rest, and sometimes physical therapy. Even broken bones in a wrist or hand could be simple and short-term injuries.
When you’ve recovered from a relatively mild injury, estimate the settlement value of your claim by adding up your economic expenses, meaning medical bills and lost wages, then adding one or two times your total expenses to account for your non-economic damages, also called “pain and suffering.”
Severe injuries may need surgery or an extended hospital stay. For example, slip and falls are a leading cause of hip fractures, which can be permanently disabling or ultimately fatal to older victims.
Serious injury claims should be handled by an experienced personal injury attorney to maximize compensation for the slip and fall victim.
Get evaluated as soon as possible to identify and treat any potential injuries.
If you or a loved one has been injured in a slip and fall accident, take action to protect your legal rights as well as your health. Speak with a qualified personal injury attorney or law firm in your state for a free consultation and case evaluation.
3. Non-Medical Treatment May Not Be Covered
Traditional health care by hospitals and trained medical professionals is viewed as the gold standard of care by insurance companies. Medical professionals should always be consulted for slip and fall injuries.
Traditional medical treatments have been scientifically tested and are almost universally accepted by insurance adjusters and courts. They also tend to deliver the most consistent results.
Some people seek out alternative treatments for their injury. The costs of alternative injury treatments are often challenged by insurance adjusters and harder to justify if you take your injury case to court.
Pain Management
Naturopathy is a holistic medical system that uses a variety of treatment approaches including herbal medicines, homeopathic remedies, dietary changes, counseling, and exercise. Naturopathic medicine has provided relief for many people. Often, people who seek this form of care are unhappy with or unable to use typical pain medication.
It may or may not work for you. If it doesn’t and you suffer pain as a result, you could have issues with your claim. The other side may argue that your refusal to take traditional medicine is a refusal to mitigate your damages. This means that the other side won’t be responsible for the pain you caused yourself by refusing traditional medication.
Chiropractic Treatment
For back and neck injuries, treatment by a chiropractor is an alternative to surgery. Chiropractors are not medical doctors. This fact will likely be pointed out when you make your claim. If you’re not treating your injury with a medical doctor, the other side may try to portray your slip and fall injury as less serious than it really is.
Also keep in mind that chiropractors offer more limited treatment options than medical doctors. The Mayo Clinic states that, while chiropractic adjustment can have modest effects on lower back pain and other conditions, it doesn’t work for everybody. As with holistic medicine, this can lead to mitigation of damages arguments from the other side.
There are also studies indicating some potential risks of chiropractic adjustment. It’s difficult to say whether and how this type of treatment should be used in a slip and fall case. An insurance company or a property owner you sue may try to use a history of chiropractic treatment against you.
A study on chiropractic care published by the U.S. National Library of Medicine notes that chiropractic manipulation of the spine is “frequently associated with mild to moderate adverse effects.” In your injury claim, this may result in the other side claiming that part or all of your injury or chronic pain is due to chiropractic adjustment rather than the slip and fall accident.
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